🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Honoring the sport's lost great a score of years on. The talented player won The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was play snooker. A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win six significant titles in six years. The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday. But despite the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever. 'He just loved it': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter recalls. "However he just adored it." His dad recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He competed every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from table top snooker with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Quick Success: A Star is Born With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on building a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in the early 2000s. 'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his easy charm, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The goal was for a platform to help get kids off the street," one official said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Always Remembered: Two Decades On Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
The talented player won The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was play snooker. A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win six significant titles in six years. The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday. But despite the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever. 'He just loved it': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter recalls. "However he just adored it." His dad recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He competed every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from table top snooker with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Quick Success: A Star is Born With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on building a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in the early 2000s. 'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his easy charm, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The goal was for a platform to help get kids off the street," one official said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Always Remembered: Two Decades On Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.